Prefabricated swimming pool



Oct. 4, 1966 DELIA PREFABRICATED SWIMMING POOL Filed June 50, 1964 I lVENTOR. LEO DELI A ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,276,043 PREFABRICATEDSWIMlVIING POOL Leo Delia, 29 Van Riper Ave., Montville, NJ. Filed June30, 1964, Ser. No. 379,082 4 Claims. (Cl. 4172) My invention relates toswimming pools and is directed particularly to a portable prefabricatedswimming pool for above-ground installation.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an improvedlightweight, prefabricated swimming pool that can be shipped and storedin knockdown form and readily assembled and disassembled by thehomeowner.

A more particular object is to provide a prefabricated swimming pool ofthe above nature which is of polygonal shape, preferably in the shape ofa decagonal polygon, to provide a multiple of short, identical, unitaryside members that can be conveniently handled and stored, and which canbe assembled to one another by the use of simple corner straps bolted inplace.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a prefabricatedswimming pool of the above nature which lends itself to inexpensive andlightweight construction by the use of standard 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 lumber,and a one-piece pool liner formed of polyvinyl sheet material.

Other objects features and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following description when read with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denotecorresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled prefabricated swimming poolembodying the invention,

FIG. 2 is a top view thereof, on a reduced scale,

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken through one of the sidemembers of the pool,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary oblique view of an outside corner of the poolillustrating the angle straps for assembling the side members togetherat their junctures, and

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view, taken along the line 55 ofFIG. 4 in the direction of the arrows, illustrating details of theconnecting bolts.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the swimming pool illustratedin FIG. 1 embodying the invention is comprised of ten identical sidemembers, indicated generally by the numeral 10, arranged in the form ofan equilateral decagonal polygon to provide an enclosure supporting andconfining a flexible water-tight liner 11 (see FIG. 3). Preferably, eachof the side members is about 8 feet in length to provide a pool area ofabout 450 square feet.

Each side member 10 is prefabricated of standard size lumber, preferablyredwood. As best illustrated in FIG. 3, each side member is comprised ofa plurality of vertically spaced rib members 12, which preferably are 2"x 4" boards arranged flatwise, held in interspaced relation by spacermembers 13 at one side, which are preferably 2" x 6" boards arrangededgewise. A 2" x 6" board coping member 14 is secured flat upon theuppermost rib member 12, being centrally spaced thereon to overhang ateach side. The individual boards of the side members 10 are securelyheld together by nailing and/ or gluing to provide a solid unitarystructure of about 40 inches in height.

The ends of the side members 10 are cut at an angle, as indicated at 15,so that when they are arranged in their polygonal form upon assemblythey will abut in face-toface engagement. In the embodiment of adecagonal polygon, as is illustrated, the bevel angle will be 18circular degrees.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, angular straps 16 are secured againstthe outside surfaces of adjacent side members 10 at each corner to holdthem in assembled relation. Three straps 16 bolted between the upper andlower and Patented Oct. 4, 1966 central rib members 12 at each corner asby bolts 17 have been found to be suflicient for the desired strengthand rigidity.

The polyvinyl liner 11 is prefabricated, such as by electronic seamWelding, to conform to the prismatic shape of the assembled pool, and issecured about its upper periphery against the inside lower corners ofthe coping members 14 of the side members 10 as by metal angle stripclamps 18 held in place as by screws 19 (see FIG. 3). In assembling thepool, loose sand is preferably placed on the ground within the polygonalenclosure before the assembly thereto of the liner 11, to provide acushion at the bottom of the pool.

An important advantage of my prefabricated swimming pool is that itcomprises a small number of component parts that can readily beassembled andd disassembled With the use of ordinary hand tools. Anotherimportant advantage resides in its simplicity, and the use of standardsize lumber and low cost hardware and liner elements, permittingmanufacture and sale at an unusually low price as compared with otherportable pools of comparable size.

While I have illustrated and described herein only one form in which myinvention can conveniently be embodied in practice, it is to beunderstood that this form is presented by Way of example only and not ina limiting sense. The invention, in brief, comprises all the embodimentsand modifications coming within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A prefabricated pool comprising, in combination, a plurality ofidentical, substantially rectangular side members, means for securingsaid side members in end-to-end disposition to form a polygonalenclosure, a cup-like liner member of watertight, flexible sheetmaterial in the shape of said enclosure, and means for securing theperipheral edge of said liner member against the peripheral edge at theinside of an enclosure formed by said side members, each of said sidemembers comprising plurality of 2" x 4 wood board ribs secured in spacedparallel relation by interspaced 2" x 6" wood board spacer members, saidribs being arranged relatively flatwise and said spacer members beingarranged edgewise at one side of said ri-b members.

2. A prefabricated pool as defined in claim 1 including a coping membersecured flat against the uppermost rib member of each of said sidemembers.

3. A prefabricated pool as defined in claim 1 wherein said coping memberis in the form of a 2" x 6" board arranged to overhang the inside ofsaid uppermost rib member.

4. A prefabricated pool as defined in claim 3 wherein said means forsecuring said liner member comprises a plurality of metal angle stripclamps removably secured against the inside corners of said copingmembers, and wherein said side members securing means comprises aplurality of angle straps removably secured against outside cornersurfaces of adjacent ones of said side members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,674,766 4/1954Peterson 52-245 X 2,869,140 1/1959 Wiedeman 4-172 X 3,010,117 11/1961Riley et al. 4172 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. GROSS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A PREFABRICATED POOL COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A PLURALITY OFINDENTICAL, SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR SIDE MEMBERS, MEANS FOR SECURINGSAID SIDE MEMBERS IN END-TO-END DISPOSITION TO FORM A POLYGONAL ENSURE,A CUP-LIKE LINER MEMBER OF WATERTIGHT, FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL IN THESHAPE OF SAID ENCLOSURE, AND MEANS FOR SECURING THE PERIPHERAL EDGE OFSAID LINER MEMBER AGAINST THE PERIPHERAL EDGE AT THE INSIDE OF ANENCLOSURE FORMED BY SAID SIDE MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID SIDE MEMBERSCOMPRISING PLURALITY OF 2" X 4" WOOD BOARD RIBS SECURED IN SPACEDPARALLEL RELATION BY INTERSPACED 2" X 6" WOOD BOARD SPACER MEMBERS, SAIDRIBS BEING ARRANGED RELATIVELY FLATWISE AND SAID SPACER MEMBERS BEINGARRANGED EDGEWISE AT ONE SIDE OF SAID RIB MEMBERS.